MOB in Saint Johns

[marvin4239]

A 27 year old man apparently lost his life today while trying to refuel his outboard while underway in the Saint Johns. It appears he was leaning over the transom trying to pour fuel in his kicker while his wife was operating what appeared to be approximately a 30 ft sailboat. Details are not clear but the part of the river he went overboard in is maybe a mile and half wide. He wasn't wearing a life preserver. Search and rescue hasn't located the body yet. Just yesterday we had a 6 story parking garage that was under construction collapse in downtown Jacksonville. Things haven't been to pleasant around the River City lately.

By Jessica Clark
First Coast News

CLAY COUNTY, FL -- Authorities from several agencies are searching by water and by air for a missing boater on the St. Johns River.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office received a call for help from a woman in a sailboat. She told authorities her husband fell overboard while trying to fill up a gas can just after 9 a.m.

Authorities located her a few miles south of the Shands Bridge in the sailboat. Crews also recovered a gas can, but the 27-year-old man has not been found.

The couple is from Miami.

Search teams are staged near the Williams Park Road boat ramp.

Three helicopters are up in the air looking for the man.

Dive teams and boats from Jacksonville Fire & Rescue, the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are also helping out.

The sheriff's office says the water is very dark.

First Coast News reporter Jessica Clark will have the very latest beginning at 5 p.m.

[Chester]

Terrible, and it happens in an an instant.

[rogerbum]

Terrible yes. Also, yet another example of why you should buy a comfortable, self-inflating life vest and ALWAYS wear it on the boat. I'd bet that >90% of all boating deaths could be avoided by this simple approach. I'd also bet that there are many C-Brats who do not consistently wear a life vest when operating or riding in their boat. So, if any of you reading this are one of those who doesn't, please change your habits so that one day we don't have a sad thread on the site about you.

[JimD]

[Chester]

Inflatable PFD's are great. If your PFD dosen't have a whistle attached, get one. We keep the door open when one person is in the cockpit and the other is inside. A boarding ladder is available at all times. The list goes on.
Thing is, just a few basic safety precautions can make all the difference.

[Hunkydory]

[JimD]

[thataway]

It is hard to argue against safety and the loss of a life certainly brings this out. On the other hand, I have boated all of my life (since about 2 months of age--and none of the photos of me when very young included life vests in some very small boats). I have fallen overboard at sea when about 10 years old (my dad did not believe in toe rails or lifelines, pulpits) and at anchor/dock several times when young. I had learned basic water safety about the time I was walking. My kids always wore life jackets when on deck or when there was a possibilty of going on deck. My grand children wear life jackets on my boats, while there is any potential of going on the deck. We keep inflatable PFD are right by the door (with whistle, strobe, and if it is rough, the VHF radio and PLB clipped on). If we have to go on deck, then the life vest goes on. As we age, and more likely to have a medical accident, slip or fall or are not as strong a swimmer, we will wear the life jackets more. We wear type III life vests in the dinghy. But in the cabin, we do not wear life jackets. Whe we are on deck with the children (not in the cockpit) we wear vests. Actually I think that children should wear life jackets on the dock as well. Probably as many kids fall off the dock as off boats.

We don't know the entire sequence of what happened to the person on the St. Johns, but most likely the water was cold. Our local bay water is down into the high 50's where it will stay for the winter. We don't know what expertise his wife had--and it is very important that the spouse be able to handle the boat, and get back to a person who fell overboard. If the goal was staying on the boat--a safety harness should have been worn--and sailboats of this size should have safety harnesses for all of the crew. When sailing, we often wore safety harnesses and had strong points on the deck/mast/cockpit for attatchment, as well as jacklines.

Certainly if you don't feel secure, have any hesitency about safety then wear a life jacket. However, do also learn water safety, use all methods available to avoid falling overboard, and be sure that the other people in the boat can rescue a person overboard. We used to have regular overboard drills--not a bad idea.

[marvin4239]

I use to foolishly never wear a life jacket and I've been boating on and off for over 50 years. Last summer I went to the inland side of a barrier Island by my house like I've done hundreds of times. I anchor and walk across the island and look for sharks teeth and shells on the ocean side. Since the tide was going out I anchored in about 5 feet of water so the tide wouldn't leave me high and dry. I jumped over the side and tried to swim. Do to health issues that I try to ignore I barely made it. Even though I could stand the water pressure took my breath away. I wear and inflatable jacket now anytime I'm in the cockpit.

[Hunkydory]

[Byrdman]

Our C-Brat friend Jeff Brigner & his friend Bob are somewhere on the south end area of the St. John's River now. C-Pearl.

Byrdman

[thataway]

For some of the newer boaters there are a number of different PDF's to consider. We carry two type I PFD, which are moderately comfortable to wear, give 24 lbs of flotation foam, and give head support as well as some back flotation. Then we have the "usual" type II, near shore with about 16 lbs of floatation--which are to fulfill the requirement for guests aboard.

Our personal favorites are vests which were custom made for us by North Sails about 30 years ago when we were racing and featuring North Sails on our boat. These fit very well, have pockets for the radio/EPRIB and are give great rib protection if we are getting thrown around in heavy seas. These are also very good cold weather vests--similar to the Mustang "integrity vest". For the dinghy we use a open mesh vest, with pockets--again for safety gear--and the minimum floatation of 16 lbs in the foam which allows for "breathing" in our hot Florida weather.

I mentioned the inflatable PFD's we keep by the cabin door, and we wear if we go on deck in heavy weather.

Also in rough weather to be considered is a "super" life jacket, like the Mustang "lift"--which gives 40 lbs of inflatable floatation.

If I lived in the PNW, I would definately own a type V float coat, with an inflatable bladder such as the Float-tech which gives 32 lbs of floatation with the bladder inflated. (And probably a Mustang or Sterns survival suit). It is also a good idea to have a coat which has a beaver tale, which will keep the jacket from rising up and also give some further protection from hypothermia. But nothing will beat the real survival suits if you have to go into the water. The problem is that many of the suits and some lifejackets are hard to work in and are not that comfortable.

We also keep an assortment of childrens lifejackets for from infant to 90 lbs around so that we will always have a PFD for visiting children.

Try out different life jackets for comfort and fit before deciding on what you will buy--as well as the "usual" class II PFD's.

[hardee]

Jay and Joleen asked,

[oldgrowth]

Why you should always wear a live vest on board your boat.

video

You never know when someone will drop an anchor on you.
________
Dave

[Sea Wolf]